On October 13, my 18 year old son got into a car accident. He was totally at fault and hit someone from behind at a traffic light. My son immediately called me and I came to the scene of the accident. The police officer was there writing up the details and the man my son hit was having his car towed to a shop (although it was able to be driven mechanically). I asked the man if he was alright, he said fine. I told him he should go get checked out if he is having discomfort, he repeated he was fine. The police officer wrote on the accident report, “No Injuries”.
Yesterday my son and I both received notice that we are being sued (I am the owner of the car.) We reside in Florida and I don’t know about other places, but here you can only sue if you have a permanent injury resulting for the accident. I am not worried because my insurance is good but a bit ticked off that someone would create an injury and sue to just get compensated.
Did they say that they were suing because of injury or could it be just for damages to the car and missed work?
Back injuries from trauma can legitimately start to hurt a day or two after an accident. He may be scamming your insurance company but you have no idea if this is true or not.
My daughter, in a fairly small sedan, was once broadsided by a guy in a pickup truck who ran a stop sign to run into her and also had no insurance. Fortunately, nobody was injured, including, of course, uninsured idiot. Then he tried to sue us. Our insurance company rep told me he actually laughed at the guy’s lawyer for being dumb enough to take the case. Needless to say, we never heard any more about it.
Been there, done that! There’s no such thing as an accident anymore.
The story: Mrs. Sperry turned left in front of another driver. This was a low speed accident as cars were braking for a red light. No one injured thank goodness, even though a passenger in other car was holding an infant. (No car seat!)
Of course the only ticket issued was to Mrs. Sperry. Even though it is illegal to drive with an unrestrained child.
Two weeks later, we get notification we’re being sued from the best legal team you can find in the newspaper’s TV section.
The insurance company did the easy thing: give 'em a couple grand to go away.
It disgusts me to this day that this happened. The lawsuit wasn’t over “fix my car, pay my medical bills”, but “What can I get?”
It could very well be that he is trying to scam you. Then again, I have been in accidents where I did not feel any pain until the next day. How bad was the accident? Could he have been in shock?
Almost the exact same situation. I am also strongly inclined to believe the woman currently suing me is bullshitting (especially given the severity of the injuries she’s claiming: among other things, loss of a body function?? ), but, like hajario pointed out, back/neck inuries may not be immediately apparent.
My insurance company is dragging it out, I guess, as it’s been four years since the accident and no progress has been made. I’ve had to answer questions a few times, including a 10-page quesitionaire and an in-person interview with someone from the insurance company. I’m due to appear in court for some reason or another in January. YMMV.
I don’t know how to judge how bad the accident was other than no one appeared hurt. His car was drivable but my car was not. Airbags did deploy in my car.
He didn’t seem in shock to me, he seemed more concerned about who would pay for his car to be towed to the shop. I should have suspected this was going to be a problem then.
I work in the medical field and true, back pain often does appear after the accident along with stiffness and soreness. However, these are typically not permanent injuries and as I said, you must have a doctor state you have a PERMANENT injury for a plaintiff to have a case. I am almost 100% positive he is full of it.
I would suggest, Foxy, that you get a lawyer and not discuss this further. The other side can subpoena anything and everything, and you don’t want them trying to get this thread.
Well, I had a very similar accident (ie: rear ended), and I have a permanent back injury that wasn’t obvious at the time. Now, the reason it wasn’t obvious is because I was taken to the hospital with a head injury (explains a lot, huh! :D). However, over the next couple of days it made itself known.
Now, obviously I don’t know how you define a permanent injury - I have a spinal deformity, which is directly attributable to the accident, apparently. Obviously I’m not a doctor, but I do have a doctor (lots of doctors, actually) and that’s what they have to say.
Now - that doesn’t mean that the guy your son hit isn’t full of crap; however, just because there wasn’t blood gushing all over the place, or a windshield wiper blade sticking out of his head, doesn’t necessarily mean there was no permanent damage done.
Of course a spinal deformity is a permanent injury. And you went to the hospital so you were obviously hurt. Whether or not it was your back or neck or head, you suffered an injury. This guy was walking around, talking, getting stuff out of his car all without difficulty. Maybe he was hurt, I am just saying I doubt it.
As far as being worried about someone getting the transcript of this thread. Let 'um. What do I care, it is all true. The man told my son and his friend that he was fine, he told me he was fine, he told the officer on the scene he was fine. Exactly 30 days later I get a letter from a lawyer. Seems very fishy to me. Of course, I DO hope this guy is scamming and not really hurt. I know my son would feel awful if he did hurt this guy.
The same thing happened to me. I was looking for a street sign and turned to see cars stopped at a red light. I braked hard and rear-ended a woman at about 5 mph. We were both just fine which was good but the car I hit got pushed into the car ahead of her and bumped it. Inside that car was the mother of all victims. She had been out on Workman’s Comp for 10 years and sued 2 other people in that time. The case just got settled by the insurance company about 6 months ago after it had almost gone to trial 5 times in two years. It sucked by my lawyer told me that is just what some people do although juries aren’t that sympathetic to claims of soft-tissue injuries any more.
Well yah, but there wasn’t blood gushing everywhere, and I didn’t have a windshield wiper blade stiking out of my head. So it wasn’t a DRAMATIC injury, ya know? Well, I was unconcious, so I guess it was a little dramatic. Ok, you know what, my accident was obviously nothing like your son’s so, uh, just forget I posted.
I was rear-ended once, and at the scene I felt no injuries whatsoever. I was a little shaken up, but otherwise seemed just fine. I was walking around, I was talking, no blood. I drove the rest of the way to work, no problem either. Then a few hours later both of my legs stiffened up so bad that I literally couldn’t stand up. The pain was agonizing and I ended up needing physical therapy for months. In your world that might’ve seemed fishy, but in my world it was a reality.
I guess the “fishy” part is getting a lawyer so fast. He must have found an attorney faster then he found a doctor! Already there has been a discovery of my insurance limits and paperwork filed and this was 30 days ago. How would this guy even know if he has a permanent injury?
Sorry you were in pain. I wonder, did you get a lawyer to sue as quickly as this guy did and if so, why?
Seems like a good opportunity to mention personal liability policies, often called “umbrella policies”. You can get a million dollar coverage for around a hundred to a hundred fifty bucks a year. They not only give you the additional protection, but probably better representation by your ins. co. in the event of a claim.
Yep, being rear-ended in this country is like winning the lotto. When my wife was a new driver, she rear-ended a guy. They were sitting at a red light. Light turned green and he starts to go, so my wife does too. Then for some reason he stops, so my wife tapped his back end.
Guy gets out and starts looking at his car. As soon as my wife gets out he decides to call 911. There was Zero damage to either car. None… not even a scratch.
Cops and ambulance show up. Ambulance leaves because no one is hurt. The cops didn’t even write my wife a ticket. Yet this clown sued my insurance company claming physical therapy, missed work, chronic pain… the works.
My insurance company asked for pictures and statements. They said this guy had done this kind of thing before and they were going to fight it. They eventually caved and paid him 3 grand. My insurance was jacked for 3 years. I hate people sometimes. (who am I kidding, I hate people most of the time)
I REFUSE to play that game. I don’t care if every other person in the country is getting 10,000 dollar checks. I’m not faking an injury to get some money.
Me and the wife were sitting at a red light when we felt a slight tap. I looked at her and said “did we just get hit?” Sure enough, the guy behind me hit me. I get out to look and he’s looking all worried. No damage to either car so I say to just forget it and go on my merry way.
Let me start with, sorry to hear about the suit Foxy. As I have mentioned in past posts, I am a claims adjuster. Technically I’m a Senior Litigation Specialist. This means nearly everything I handle is in suit and it’s ugly. In addition my wife was sued for a low speed rear end accident. Same sort of thing you’re talking about. So I have a very good grasp of what you are going through. Feel free to ask any direct questions about the claim process.
I will take this moment to interject the standard disclaimer:
Nothing I say can be taken as legal advice. I am not an attorney. Anything I relate in regards to liability claims, the legal system or plaintiff’s lawyers in general is my personal opinion based on my experience.
Low impact accidents are trouble some. People have a tendency to believe that since there was only very minor damage to the cars that no injury could have occurred. Injury can occur. On the other hand I am going to seriously investigate a claim for a ruptured disc in a 5mph accident.
Some people get attorneys before they see the doctor. Look at the ads at the bottom of the page. It doesn’t mean these folks are making anything up but it’s a red flag. I’d be willing to bet your plaintiff has filed suit before. He may have even used the same attorney.
As to the plaintiff saying he’s lost bodily function, in many states the threshold to get out of the PIP system is permanent impairment of a bodily function. So in order to have standing his attorney may have had to plead this. (Again this is not legal advice) My hunch is this is a minor injury the plaintiff attorney is trying to beef up. There’s no reason to file so soon I’d bet he’s treating with a chiropractor and hasn’t even finished his course of treatment. Plaintiff counsel is hoping the fact this is in suit will up the value $2-3K.
I tried to buy one of those a short time ago from State Farm. The first alarm bell that went off was when the agent said they “could not show (me) the policy until after I had signed it” as it was “against State Farm policy”. I said “Huh? You mean you sell policies to people who don’t read them? Tell me how that works.” and eventually, like pulling teeth, the reluctantly gave me a policy to read. And this led to the second alarm bell - a “blanket policy” in my mind means you’re paying to be covered for anything - meteor strike, giant radioactive lizard attack, werewolf bites, anything. Instead, I’m reading this bullshit policy with 6 pages of exceptions and limitations, some of which even the agent can’t explain to me, and it requires me to reduce the deductable on my car insurance (totally unrelated IMO) to almost nothing. So it’s no longer a “blanket” policy, but more like a “frayed fishnet” policy.
If anyone knows of a “true” no bullshit blanket policy, let me know…
An umbrella policy protects you for financial liability over and above your auto and homeowner’s insurance. It is not for property damage. Most insurance companies require to to have a certain amount of automobile liability, above the statutory limit, before they will sell you an umbrella policy. I’m not sure of the specific reason for this, but the statutory minimum, in most states, is woefully inadequate for most people.
), but, like hajario pointed out, back/neck inuries may not be immediately apparent.